Seeing, feeling and exploring places and cultures of the world

An Aftertaste of Istanbul

We were standing under Galata Tower, a 14th century gem perched on the hill of Beyoğlu, a district in the European side of Istanbul. South we headed, where an even more ancient landmark emerged from afar, on top on Seraglio Point. Hagia Sophia, once the largest cathedral in the world, prominently overlooked the city with another great monument standing to the west – the Blue Mosque.

We ventured back across the Golden Horn, through Galata Bridge, to get to the lavishly decorated and almost fairytale-esque Dolmabahçe Palace where the world’s biggest and heaviest chandelier embellished the Grand Ceremonial Hall.

Across the fabled Bosphorus, the more down-to-earth neighborhood of Üsküdar provided the tranquility we needed from the constant bustle of the city’s European districts. The Maiden’s Tower sat elegantly at the end of the narrow strait before it opened up into the Sea of Marmara. Nearby, a small billboard depicted the Marmaray, a mega-project to better connect the European and Asian sides of Istanbul through the world’s deepest immersed tube tunnel.

Everywhere we went, Istanbul seemed to keep proving itself as a city of superlatives and contradictions.

* * *

Ten months have passed since that wonderful trip to Istanbul in winter. Some treasured memories remain while others have started to fade. But in the past week so many things have reminded me of Turkey. From the pictures a friend of mine uploaded on Facebook from his trip to Cappadoccia, to a comment from a Turkish blogger mentioning the exotic corners of his country, to the documentary I watched on the giant heads of Mount Nemrut in Turkey’s southeast.

All of this prompted me to sift once more through my photos of Istanbul – that magical, ancient crossroads – and share these pictures that have previously gone unpublished.

Commuters in Front of Yeni Camii, One of the Many Mosques in This Secular City

Throngs of Seafood Restaurants under Galata Bridge with Some of the Most Persistent Staff Ever

A Bank Office, Beyoğlu

Walking Up the Neighborhood, Beyoğlu

An Inscription Written in Arabic, Galata Tower

The Ever-present Evil Eye

The Blue Mosque, Taken from the Back Alleys

The Ornate Gate of the Blue Mosque

The Charming Neighborhood of Sultanahmet

Looking Into the Vast and Rugged Plains of Anatolia

Dolmabahçe Mosque on the Ground of Ottoman’s Last Palace

The Adorable Cats of Istanbul…

…and A Lonely Dog Who Kept Following Us in Üsküdar

Busy Pigeons at Eminönü

Left: Locals Hanging Out at the Shore of Üsküdar; Right: Galata Tower at Night

Sunset at Sultanahmet

Commuters inside the Historic Tram at İstiklal Avenue

An Alley Dotted with Open-Air Restaurants and Fresh Produce Vendors

Phases of Life as Depicted in A Beautiful Rug from the Heart of Anatolia

Thanks Aggy! Well, I published better pictures of the city in my posts earlier this year. But I couldn’t resist myself from looking up my collections again and share some more to my readers, including you! 🙂 You should go there. Chances are…it won’t disappoint.

Bama, thanks for sharing more snapshots from your January trip. My favourites are the scenes of daily life including the friendly dog and cats. Istanbul looks like such a lovely place in winter – just imagine how beautiful it would be covered in snow!

My pleasure James! The cats and dogs in Istanbul were some of the friendliest and fluffiest that I’ve ever met. I still think that you would enjoy Istanbul as much as I did. It must be even more magical to see the city covered in snow!

Ah, Bama – beautiful captures of some of the many moods of this incredible city – takes me back – how I loved that city and delighted in every moment we had there, living in our van in the carpark of the Blue Mosque, shopping in the bazaar, wandering the neighbourhoods.

Thanks Meredith! Wow, you stayed in a van? How adventurous you were! 🙂 I’m not surprised to see why many people loved their visit to the city. It is truly a wonderful place to be…getting lost in the bazaars, being amazed by the grand architectural designs, indulging in the food. I would go back in a heartbeat!

Beautiful! Because of difficult circumstances, the only time me and my boyfriend can be together is during the summers in turkey. This took me back to all these amazing places where we always go to sit and watch everything happening around us. Thank you for the lovely moment you just gave me:) great photographs btw!

Thank you! I’m glad this post brings back some good memories to you. There are still more on Turkey, just look up all my posts under ‘Turkey’. I guess it would be amazing to be in the country during summer when the weather and sky are nice. Wish you more great time with your boyfriend!

Wow, I can imagine how wonderful it must be standing on the porch of the tower during Ramadan and looking at people below, preparing for breaking the fast. Is that what you saw? Btw, I love the header photo on your blog! Salar de Uyuni, I suppose?

Yeah Solar de Uyuni..about Galata…square was full of people..drinking and eating… and all the suden police has arrived, thay said that the gathering is illegal and we have to go home, bla bla…an hour later they forced us to leave..so interesting

Was it illegal because it’s Ramadan? If so, I never thought it would happen in a secular country like Turkey. Anyway, when I was on Galata Tower the wind blew really strongly with these snowflakes hitting my face. It was an interesting experience though.

I just want to let you know that I love what you’ve done with your blog! I have wanted to visit Turkey for many years now and after what I read I want to go even more now! I also write a travel blog and I would love for you to check it out! 🙂 It’s dairi100.wordpress.com
Thank you and keep up the great blog posts!

What an amazing place! I grew up in the Northwest part of China where many Muslim minorities live there. People there have similar culture background as people in Istanbul. Love their Grand Bazaar! I will definitely visit this cultural hub of the historical Silk Road in the future~

Thanks for visiting my blog! It’s really nice to know another blogger who grew up in that particular part of China where many Turkic people live. I imagine how much similar the culture is with that of Turkey’s or even Indonesia’s.

Thanks! When I was there last January one of my friends asked me if I thought I could live in Istanbul, because he said for him Istanbul is a nice city to explore but he wasn’t so sure about living there. But for me all the historical sites can make a good reason for actually living in the city. 🙂

My pleasure, Michelle! Istanbul is a very big city and if riots do break out in Gezi Park again, there are still a lot of places to visit in the city: You can go to the Asian side, or go west to see Chora Church, or just stroll around the Golden Horn. Wish you have a great time in Turkey soon! 🙂

Hope you have a lot of fun in Istanbul, Kels! It’s such a great city for those who love history, architecture and culinary adventure. I spent about a week there and it was far from enough. I won’t be surprised if you ended up wanting to go back in the future. Istanbul does that! 🙂 Thanks for your kind words as well!

Istanbul is a great place. Loved the Topkapi Palace – the museum holds such overwhelmingly impressive treasures… the huge diamonds, the apple-size emeralds…
I’m sorry for lonely dogs – they are often hurt souls and some of them are very intelligent.

Oh I couldn’t agree more with you. With such a long history dotted with Byzantine and Ottoman heritage buildings, Istanbul truly is a magnificent city. It’s sad to see how bad some people treat dogs, they deserve better treatment, really.